Organizational Behaviour

General characterization

Prerequisites

Mandatory Precedence:

-1200. Principles of Management

Bibliography

We recommend the following textbooks:

Neck C.P., Houghton J.D. and Murray, E.L. (2017). Organizational Behavior: A critical-thinking approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Or (for those who can read in Portuguese):

Cunha M.P., Rego A., Cunha R.C. and Cabral - Cardoso C. and Neves P. (2016). Manual de comportamento organizacional e gestão (8ª edição). Lisboa: RH Editora.

Teaching method

• Lecture sessions;
• Educational videos;
• Clips from films;
• Fiction literature;
• Other arts (painting, architecture, music);
• Written and interactive case study materials;
• Written assignments;
• Group presentations;
• Practical exercises.

  Evaluation method

  Regular exam period:

  • 1. Exam: 30%

    There will be a written exam, with questions focusing on the topics discussed in classes, including group presentations and individual reports.

  • 2. Consultancy report (4/5 students): 30%

    Each team will collect surveys (40 employee-leader dyads or 40 individuals across three weeks) created by the instructors or developed by the team, analyze data with SPSS, and write a brief report (15-20 pages max.) describing their findings, main conclusions and recommendations. This report should follow a consultancy style rather than a research report style. Each team will focus on a specific OB topic proposed by the instructors and should do additional research on the topic.

    Teams must belong to the same practical session and their creation is a student responsibility. They should also represent the class diversity (Portuguese and Erasmus).

  • 3. Discussion of the consultancy report (individual): 10%

    Additionally, each team will prepare a presentation (10-15 minutes) on the topic under analysis on a date to be decided with the instructors (dates to be defined in the last 2 weeks of the semester). Prepare the presentation as if it was for a client. Prepare it well so that it can be lively and engaging.

    After the presentation of the consultancy reports, students will have to answer individual questions asked by the instructors. This will assess the individual knowledge of each student about the whole assignment, not only the presentation. Please keep in mind that the discussion is as important as the presentation.

    An important note on plagiarism: please make sure that you reference your sources properly. Do not copy material from the Internet. It’s dishonest and we’ll check. Use all the sources you want but make them explicit.

  • 4. Individual assignment: Leadership case analysis (30%)

    1. Using a case or example*, identify a situation in which effective OR more effective leadership has helped/would have helped a team or an organization perform better, avoid a negative outcome, or solve a problem. Identify the issue(s) at hand and discuss what an effective leader has done in order to achieve the desired outcomes OR how more effective leader would have done things differently. Use at least two of the leadership models or theories discussed in class. (4 to 5 pages in length).

    2. Write a personal self-reflection that focuses on your own profile as a leader, emphasizing your potential to become an effective leader, that is, the skills, strengths and positive attributes that you already have (and/or you can develop) and that characterize an effective leader (you should back your reflection with examples) (1 page in length)

    You must clearly identify and cite the case or example you are using, and provide an overview of the situation.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: You are required to have a minimum grade of 9.5 in each of the assessment tools to get final approval in the whole course.

    The data collected by students (i.e., surveys) can be used by the instructors for academic purposes, unless explicitly stated by the students.

  Resit exam period:

  Final exam (and its weight): 100%

  Grade improvement in regular period:

  Continuous assessment with similar structure to the regular assessment.

  Grade improvement in resit period:

  Final exam (and its weight): 100%

Subject matter

• Theme 1. Introduction / Management practices and beliefs in OB/HR;
• Theme 2. Organizations and organizational behavior: An historical overview and challenges;
• Theme 3. Human behavior: The interaction of personality and situation;
• Theme 4. Emotions and stress;
• Theme 5. Job satisfaction and work motivation;
• Theme 6. Working in teams;
• Theme 7. Leaders, followers and situations: The leadership process;
• Theme 8. Social exchanges: Justice, support and trust;
• Theme 9. Organizational culture;
• Theme 10. Organizations and change;
• Theme 11. State-of-the-art in OB;
• Theme 12. Group presentations, course evaluation and discussion of the exam structure.

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: